7th grader throws down a windmill dunk in a game! NBA players remember their first dunk

Do you remember when you were going through puberty, didn’t have a drivers license or know the first thing about algebra but you knew how to throw down a windmill dunk? OK, you probably can’t relate to the last statement but for 6’3″ 7th grader William Dillard at the CP3 Rising Stars National Event in North Carolina, throwing down contest dunks is easier than geometry.

Considering Michael Jordan didn’t dunk until he was in 9th grade (but he was only 5’8″) the sky is the limit for William…literally.

Check out a few quotes from Jordan, Vince Carter and other NBA players on their first time and losing their dunk virginity.

I can never stop working hard each day. I feel I have to improve. Hard work, determination…I’ve got to keep pushing myself. I remember when I was five years old…dunking in trash cans on my knees, waiting for that day I would be able to really do it. And then one day, it happened.I was in the ninth grade. It was a Junior Varsity game and I was only 5’8″. And in practice I had never been able to get up that high. But the adrenaline was pumping, and I just took off. It all happened so fast. I wasn’t quite sure what I’d done, but you know I just really love that feeling.

-Michael Jordan

My first dunk was … in ninth grade. And I have it on tape.

The rims we were going at in the second half were lower than the ones in the first. So I knew if I got a breakaway in the second half that I was going to try it. And that’s where I got my first dunk. I think it was a 9 ½-foot rim, though. The whole team went nuts. It was a freshman game and if you could dunk, you should at least be playing JV, maybe Varsity.

-Drew Gooden

My first dunk was when I was like 16. It was the 10th grade, just before the 11th grade. So I was a late bloomer. I’m pretty sure that of everyone I know that dunks pretty good, I was always the last person to start.

-DeMar DeRozan

My first dunk was actually in sixth grade.

-Vince Carter

I was 14 years old and I dunked a volleyball because that was the only ball I could palm, in the gym, right before practice. My first dunk in a game came when I was 15 on a dish pass from my best friend. I came down the middle and I dunked it and when that happened I could hardly believe it.

-Paul Pierce

I was 12-years-old and 5-foot-11 for my first dunk. As far as the dunk over Tim Duncan, you can say that is the highlight of my pro career so far. I watched him alot on film and to be able to get one down on a player of his caliber is a great accomplishment. I hope I can do it again!

-LaMarcus Aldridge

My first dunk ever. Oh, I remember, because the coach had been trying for weeks to get me to dunk the ball. I had never seen anyone do it. I didn’t really think it was possible, the coordination of the jump and holding the ball. Then everything he was trying to tell me came together in that one moment. Everyone was shocked. The coach said, ‘Do it again.’ So I did. And I did it again and again and again. I guess it changed my life.

-Hakeem Olajuwon

What is your favorite childhood basketball memory? My first dunk. It was in practice in seventh grade. Being able to dunk surprised me. I kept trying and I finally got it. It was something that I’ll never forget … because I can’t do it that much anymore.

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About the Author

Astramskas, David Aka VincentDa & RedApples fka Expiredpineapples. My alter-ego is a digital-marketing guy in Houston. Won editing awards & created obsolete flash websites that have been featured in mags like Sports Illustrated. Studied film & women at FSU during the golden age of hip-hop. Collects records, laserdiscs, sports memorabilia & toys. Father of 2 daughters that are more athletic and popular on YouTube than him.